Airlines warn of a security fee increase that could raise ticket prices

Congress may soon approve an increase in certain user fees as part of the 2014 budget deal, which may include the passenger security fee that comes with plane tickets. The security fee is currently $2.50 each way, but could be raised to $5 each way.

Senior vice president for global and government affairs at Airlines for America commented: “Each airline will take a different approach. It will manifest as [either] the passenger pays, the airline pays or a little bit of both.”

Senior policy director at the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, Marc Goldwein, said that the increase in the passenger security fee could raise around $13 billion over 10 years. However, even more user fee hikes would be needed for the government to make up for all its budget cuts.